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Well-Known Member
Italy's government has vowed to push through legislation
to stop the sale of human organs after a female gang
auctioned off a newborn child near the southern port of
Bari, possibly so that its organs could be used for
transplants.
The three-strong gang of Ukrainians, including the baby's
mother, sold the boy for 350,000 euros (£250,000) while
he was still in the womb, not realising that the successful
bidders were undercover carabinieri police officers.
The police are now investigating several Italians for
expressing an interest in buying the child for its organs.
"The terrible case of Bari confirms the urgency. A bill is
before the justice committee of the lower house which
explicitly envisages cases not only of sexual exploitation
but also the removal of organs," said Stefania
Prestagiacomo, minister for equal opportunities.
Doctors at Rome's Babbino Gesu paediatric hospital said
that both the heart and liver of a newborn baby would be
suitable for transplant, although the heart would only help
another infant.
Last week Pier Luigi Vigna, the head of Italy's anti-Mafia
commission, said that there was "more than just a
suspicion" that the group was attempting to traffic human
organs.
Last January the gang offered the unborn baby to startled
officers posing as drug runners. "There's a five-month
parcel waiting for you if you're interested," they
announced.
The bidding began at €50,000 (£35,000) but the price
swiftly started to rise as investigators struggled to keep
pace with rival bidders. Their overriding interest, they
said last week, was to secure the "purchase" and save the
baby's life.
On the evening of May 9, the "parcel" was born in a flat in
Giovinazzo, near Bari, and given to the carabinieri for
cash after they outbid rivals, an unnamed Italian couple.
Last week the three gang members, and their male
bodyguard-cum-driver, were arrested and charged with
attempted enslavement. The child's mother, a 28-year-old
prostitute, is being held in prison along with Olena
Kaurova, 62, and Nadia Tkachenko, 46, the suspected
gang ringleader. Their bodyguard, Mykhaylo Mamot, 30,
was also held for illegal possession of arms.
Investigators believe that the traffickers might have sold
other children for illegal adoption whenever one of the
prostitutes they controlled became pregnant.
Police suspicions were raised by the expert delivery and
"surgical precision" with which Kaurova cut the umbilical
cord in the kitchen of the flat, which led them to believe
that the gang had previously performed the same tasks
on other babies.
Source
to stop the sale of human organs after a female gang
auctioned off a newborn child near the southern port of
Bari, possibly so that its organs could be used for
transplants.
The three-strong gang of Ukrainians, including the baby's
mother, sold the boy for 350,000 euros (£250,000) while
he was still in the womb, not realising that the successful
bidders were undercover carabinieri police officers.
The police are now investigating several Italians for
expressing an interest in buying the child for its organs.
"The terrible case of Bari confirms the urgency. A bill is
before the justice committee of the lower house which
explicitly envisages cases not only of sexual exploitation
but also the removal of organs," said Stefania
Prestagiacomo, minister for equal opportunities.
Doctors at Rome's Babbino Gesu paediatric hospital said
that both the heart and liver of a newborn baby would be
suitable for transplant, although the heart would only help
another infant.
Last week Pier Luigi Vigna, the head of Italy's anti-Mafia
commission, said that there was "more than just a
suspicion" that the group was attempting to traffic human
organs.
Last January the gang offered the unborn baby to startled
officers posing as drug runners. "There's a five-month
parcel waiting for you if you're interested," they
announced.
The bidding began at €50,000 (£35,000) but the price
swiftly started to rise as investigators struggled to keep
pace with rival bidders. Their overriding interest, they
said last week, was to secure the "purchase" and save the
baby's life.
On the evening of May 9, the "parcel" was born in a flat in
Giovinazzo, near Bari, and given to the carabinieri for
cash after they outbid rivals, an unnamed Italian couple.
Last week the three gang members, and their male
bodyguard-cum-driver, were arrested and charged with
attempted enslavement. The child's mother, a 28-year-old
prostitute, is being held in prison along with Olena
Kaurova, 62, and Nadia Tkachenko, 46, the suspected
gang ringleader. Their bodyguard, Mykhaylo Mamot, 30,
was also held for illegal possession of arms.
Investigators believe that the traffickers might have sold
other children for illegal adoption whenever one of the
prostitutes they controlled became pregnant.
Police suspicions were raised by the expert delivery and
"surgical precision" with which Kaurova cut the umbilical
cord in the kitchen of the flat, which led them to believe
that the gang had previously performed the same tasks
on other babies.
Source
